‘We’re calm and confident; we believe in ourselves and in the plan that we have to follow to achieve our goal,’ explained Sergio Akieme at the Juegos Mediterraneos press room as he caught up with the media to look ahead to next Monday's clash in Tenerife. 

By the way, the left-back was surprised by the Saharan dust and sand in training: ‘it’s something that I had never experienced like many other team-mates. The truth is that training has been a bit tough, but we have to work and overcome the adversities.’

Despite the 3-3 draw with CD Lugo last Saturday, UD Almería managed to remain second one point over third-placed Real Valladolid CF, about which he said ‘ we have a bad feeling every time we don't win because we always go all out for the three points in every game. It's vital to add points every week. If we sometimes lose, other teams may lose too because this is an absolutely complicated and difficult championship.’

When looking ahead to Monday's league meeting at the Heliodoro Rodríguez López ground, the Madrid-born Equatoguinean pointed out that all games count equally, however it is true that from here until the end of the season, we’ll have to play certain clashes such as the one in Tenerife that if we win it, we'll beat them on goal average and have more points than them. We know what we’re playing for and we’re preparing for it.’

When asked about the islanders also known as Chicharreros, he replied ‘they’re a fairly stable team with quality players and difficult to surprise. It’ll be a match that requires a lot of work and that will be decided by small details in the end.’

Sergio Akieme reflected ‘we’ve got the advantage of being able to look at the  table and see ourselves in automatic promotion, having increased one point over third place. From now on, we have to try to correct the mistakes that led to our defeat last Saturday in order to continue improving and becoming the best version of ourselves.’